Stamps eyeing local stars but would have to trade up in the CFL draft to land them

In a perfect world, the Calgary Stampeders would take a hard left outside their dressing room, march across the field and clamber under the stands to claim their top pick in the 2013 Canadian Football League Draft.

For the University of Calgary Dinos — co-tenants at McMahon Stadium — possess the dynamic duo of defensive Linden Gaydosh and linebacker Mike Edem, two of the most highly-touted prospects in the land.

Alas, the Stampeders don’t pick until seventh overall, meaning Gaydosh and Edem will likely be long gone by the time Calgary’s turn rolls around to take centre stage.

Barring, of course, a trade at the draft table orchestrated by Stamps head coach/general manager John Hufnagel.

Stranger things have happened.

“We always look at a whole bunch of different scenarios,” says Canadian scout Brendan Mahoney, being careful not to tip his hand. “Huff will make sure we’re prepared for all different possibilities, that’s for sure.

“We feel we’re well prepared, so it’s a little easier to sleep that way.”

Sleep might have very well eluded CFL personnel types Sunday night, given what’s at stake when the draft kicks off at 10 a.m. MT (TSN).

As the late Cal Murphy always preached, the winner of any CFL trade is the team that acquired the best Canadian player.

The importance of the draft cannot be overstated.

“Usually, if a team jumps up from one season to the next, it’s because of their Canadian talent,” says John Murphy, Calgary’s assistant general manager in charge of player personnel. “You give Toronto a lot of credit for the Ricky Ray trade . . . but all of a sudden you saw some of their younger Canadian talent step up.”

Toronto, of course, beat Calgary 35-22 last November to capture the 100th Grey Cup. Continued stocking of the Canadian talent pool is essential for the Stampeders in their quest for another shot at the championship.

The annual Canadian prospect lottery has come a long way from 1991 when Homer Simpson generated guffaws the world over by mumbling to himself while watching the proceedings of the CFL Draft on TV.

Twenty-two years later, the draft is indeed televised and feels more like a crapshoot than ever given the number of prospects already under contract to NFL teams south of the border.

Stefan Charles, a defensive tackle out of Regina, and Matt Sewell, an offensive lineman out of McMaster, are both committed to the Tennessee Titans. Eastern Michigan defensive end Andy Mulumba is under contract to the Green Bay Packers.

Then there’s the school factor. Bo Lokombo, a linebacker out of Oregon, is No. 1 on the prospect list put out by the CFL scouting bureau. Nolan MacMillan, an offensive lineman out of Iowa, is ranked at No. 6. Both are heading back to college for another year of higher learning.

As such, Gaydosh (ranked third overall) and Edem (ranked 10th overall) are expected to rocket to the top of the draft order.

“Gaydosh has been highly productive,” Mahoney says. “He’s the kind of player a team might want to build their defensive line non-import position around.

“Mike Edem is a really explosive player. A really good tackler. A great athlete. A really good kid. We’ve interviewed him.”

The Stamps have also huddled with Dinos head coach Blake Nill for inside intelligence on the linebacker who could slot in at free safety in the CFL.

Keep in mind, the Stamps prefer to play a Canadian in the middle of the defensive backfield (see Eric Fraser and Keenan MacDougall.)

“Edem’s one of those guys who will come in, probably make your team on special teams to start with,” Mahoney says. “Then you would work with him and find out what position he is. He’s kind of in between a linebacker and a free safety. He does have the speed, so he could play in the backfield.

“He can run.”

Calgary heads into today’s draft with eight selections including the seventh overall pick, two spots — 13th and 16th overall — in the second round and one third-round pick (25th overall.)

The Stamps also have two fourth-round picks (28th and 34th), one sixth-round pick (48th) and one seventh-round pick (59th).

SHORT YARDAGE: Calgary’s current roster features 24 players who were chosen in the CFL draft.

The draft will go seven rounds this year as opposed to the previous six. In addition to the eight active teams in the CFL, the Ottawa franchise — scheduled to launch in 2014 — will pick last in each of the first four rounds of this year’s draft. (Ottawa is limited to redshirt juniors returning to school for another season.)

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Stamps eyeing local stars but would have to trade up in the CFL draft to land them

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